Acharya Tulsi
Men's faith is centred on several points. One of the most powerful centres is religion. There are a large number of religions in the world like Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Bahia faith, Judaism, Taoism etc. Each of these religions has its followers whose numbers are in millions. In their view, the religion which they have been following is the best of all. Anuvrat says all these are not religions but sects. Religion is an indivisible Truth. It is not divided into parts. What is the point of using any adjective for it? Only the religion not qualified by any adjective can be the religion of the people. If at all religion has to be qualified by any religion, it can be only religion of man, religion of non-violence, religion of duty or conduct. Can any sect reject this form of religion?
Some people ask- “Can there be any religion without sect?" The answer to this question is anuurat which is not related to any particular sect. If a Jain can follow the path of anuurat, so can a Muslim. There are no restrictions of community in accepting the path of anuurat. Anyone, whether a Harijan, a money-lender or a mountain-dweller can take to anuurat, provided he has faith in moral value. Anuurat is not limited even by geographical boundaries. Anyone from Japan, France, America Britain, etc. is as much entitled to take to anuurat as any Indian. It makes no distinction between Black and White races. Nor does it give any consideration to the sex of the person. Like a man, a woman can be made the follower of anuurat with respect and dignity. Anuurat is such a form which people aspiring to live a good life accept.
Some people ask-"What can anuurat do when there is so much corruption and there is erosion of moral values?" Those who are talking about moral degradation are not wrong. There is lack of righteous behaviour in every field of life. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the righteousness cannot be uprooted from the soil of India. People of India can never be without conduct. As for the rise and decline, they are to be found in every age. The important thing is the point of view. The world appears to a person from the point of view he regards it.
Two friends were engaged in a conversation. One of them said, "What Kaliyuga this is? There is darkness all around. There is only one day between two nights!”
Hearing this other friend remarked-'! See only light all around. There is only one dark night between two bright days."
Different ideas of two persons in the same situation prove the fact that because of different points of view, the same thing, and the same scene can be seen from several angles and can be interpreted in many ways. If the view-point adopted is positive, everything appears nice, and if it is negative, even light becomes darkness.
As for moral values, I think that in spite of erosion, values are interwoven in the fibre of Indian culture. Even today goodness and truthfulness are preserved in this country. They are lying low like the embers covered with the ash. They need to be brought out on the surface. If good tendencies are dominant, evil tendencies would not be able to survive. Evil tendencies cannot thrive on their own they need support in order to be active. They can move forward only by suppressing good tendencies. In the life of man, there are both good and evil tendencies. Being on the alert to see that evil tendencies do not have the upper hand, can save him from many evils.
Anuvrat is not any imaginary concept. It does not even include assimilation of very high ideals. It is a small campaign for the protection of human values. It is the minimal code of conduct for good life. There is sufficient scope in it for excellent behaviour. At the same time, it talks about nothing by moving away from the world of reality. Anuvrat is not an attempt to turn men into gods. Its aim is to make man human. The criteria of humanness can be as follows:
- Sensitiveness towards all living creatures.
- Generous outlook with regard to human relations.
- Loftiness of individual character.
- Purity about food habits and freedom from addiction.
- Not harming the interests of others for one's own selfish interests.
Anuurat means that some such things are constantly introduced into life and man continues to climb the peak of humaneness. No matter how long the journey may be, there is nothing to fear if there is anuurat to help.
